Russian Embassy in Damascus Opens Polling Place for 2018 Presidential Election

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) - A polling place for the Russian presidential election was opened at the Russian Embassy in Damascus earlier on Friday, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

"We expect a higher turnout of our citizens at the vote… We do not register citizens, especially in times of crisis, when there is no stable communication with the regions, we do not make lists and we hold the vote as it is — those who came to vote in accordance with Russian law," Minister Plenipotentiary at the Russian Embassy in Damascus Elbrus Kutrashev told Sputnik.

According to the Russian diplomat, due to the high level of threat, additional security measures have been taken in order to provide the greatest possible comfort for Russians who came to vote. The situation at the polling place remains tense due to the fact that the front line, where active combat operations are underway, is only 2.4 miles away from the embassy.

Several hundred Russian nationals have already voted early in the Syrian city of Latakia and the Homs province, Kutrashev added.

READ MORE: Putin Campaign Headquarters to Send About 100,000 Observers to Polling Places

Russia's presidential election is scheduled for Sunday. There are eight candidates running for Russian president this year: Sergey Baburin from the All-People's Union party, Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin, incumbent President Vladimir Putin, Civil Initiative party candidate Ksenia Sobchak, Communists of Russia party chairman Maxim Suraykin, Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights Boris Titov, co-founder of the Yabloko party Grigory Yavlinsky, and head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Vladimir Zhirinovsky.